The Holodex Henshin

Beams of sunlight seeped through the cave entrance's slender gaps, creating gentle designs of light and shadow on the stone walls.

A soft warmth enveloped Norvin as he nestled comfortably in his newly created sleeping bag, the serenity of the moment keeping him in a contented semi-slumber. The crackling of the fireplace had subsided to faintly glowing embers, almost fully extinguished.

He opened his eyes and just laid there for a few moments. He had never felt this good before after sleeping, ever.

"It's time to get up, kid. We've got a full day ahead of us."

"Uh-huh...I'm going to lay here for a few more moments first. Then breakfast."

"If you insist."

"I do insist, Echo. I don't think I've ever been this comfortable before. Wake me back up in about ten minutes."

"...Alright. Ten minutes it is."

With that, Norvin dozed back off, drooling onto his pillow once again.

'This guy has no manners, awake or not...' Echo thought to itself.

After letting him snooze and snore for a little bit, Echo woke Norvin up with a mental shake.

Norvin sat up in his little nook and stretched his shoulders. "Man, what a good sleep, I feel super sharp and alert, but holy crap am I hungry."

"Not surprising, I was able to generate a lot of energy and route it to the Holodex using imagination station, that energy needs to come from somewhere."

Norvin got the rest of the way out of the sleeping bag and crouched his rear all the way to the floor of the cave. He bounced with his ankles a few times, then stood back up and went straight-legged, bending over to touch his toes. 

He thought that he would be a little bit sore from the events the day before, this was not the case.

"Good stuff, how much were you able to store up?" Norvin finally responded to Echo. 

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Norvin shook his head, stretched his neck and then pulled his wrist up towards his face. He started to scroll through the Holodex and was pleasantly surprised to see around ten entries with full bars.

'Not bad...' He mused that while he could always use his own power to operate the device, having access to so many forms without expending energy was more than beneficial.

"The imagination station is like a cheat code..."

The next thought to enter his head was the left overs from last night. Norvin stretched out his hand and thought about activating the inventory skill. The same golden distortion in the air from the night before appeared slightly in front of his hand again.

Norvin put his hand inside of the warped space and it disappeared from view. He fished around for a few moments but felt nothing.

"Um... a little help here?" 

"Just think about what you're looking for, kid." Echo was quick to the point.

Norvin did as the sub-body suggested. He concentrated on the left over steak and suddenly felt something warm touch his outstretched hand. He grasped it and pulled it out of the distortion. 

The meat he had stored the night before was still steaming as if it had just come off the fire a moment ago.

Norvin released the inventory skill and started shoving the meat into his mouth, he was more famished than he had first thought! 

Norvin quickly finished the leftovers from the previous night's meal, and he instantly felt his hunger satisfied.

"Man, a beverage would go nicely with this, my mouth has been kinda dry since last night...Hey! I've got an idea!"

Echo immediately protested. "You aren't going to transform into a water type Sentai or Rider and waste energy just because you're thirsty...right?" He had been able to see the thought crossing through Norvin's mind. Several Riders and Rangers had popped up that were able to generate water based attacks and abilities.

"There are several rivers nearby, Norvin, why don't we seal up the cave and go for a walk? You can practice some of your abilities on the way..."

"I guess so...Next time we make use of imagination station, focus on charging up energy for Kamen Rider Wizard."

"Deal. Now, how about you tidy up for now and when we leave, seal up the cave again. We might as well use this as our base of operations for the time being."

"Sound's good to me...minus how bossy you sound. I can make my bed without being told you know..."

Echo paused for a minute before answering. "Hhhmm I can understand your point, kid. It's been noted...I'll try to just give you good advice in regards to becoming more proficient with our skills, instead of being 'bossy'."

"Thank ya Echo. I used to get that treatment from Edward enough back home, leave one or two small projects out and about and that turd would never let me hear the end of it."

"He sounds like he's a very tidy man." 

"Well, you've met him, he is easily the more disciplined one, I mean, the guy owns a dojo back home..." Norvin suddenly thought about how the kids from Edward's gym would probably be wondering where their instructor was. His thoughts then turned to how Huey's mother and father were taking the news of their dead daughter and missing son.

"Man...things must really be messed up at home."

"Yes, things must be really upsetting for the locals back on Earth," Echo said, scanning the cave's rough walls as if they could somehow provide answers. "But right now, we can't dwell on it too much. We're here, and we need to make the best of it, make the best of you."

Norvin nodded, but the weight of his thoughts lingered. "I just can't stop thinking about how Huey's family must feel. His parents loved him so much, despite him being a delinquent slacker. Cassie dying is horrible enough already...I can't imagine what they're going through..."

Echo's voice softened. "It's natural to worry about your friends and their families. It shows how much you care. But Huey and Edward are strong, just like you, that's why I let you pick them as your Oracles. They will find a way to hope, even in the darkest of times, I fully trust that they will succeed wherever that portal sent them to."

"Hope, huh?" Norvin chuckled, though it held a touch of bitterness. "I guess that's easier said than done right now. I mean, we're in a cave, far from home, and who knows what lies ahead? At least I have Shonen levels of main character power happening for me."

"We will find treasures, encounter new friends to become Oracles, or discover something life-changing. It's all part of this quest," Echo replied, trying to inject some enthusiasm. The sub-body was trying to appeal to the side of Norvin that liked playing RPG style videogames.

"Yeah, or get eaten by something lurking in the shadows, or something made up of shadows." He joked lightly, though the almost depressed tone of his earlier words lingered.

"True and also not true, we will only get eaten if we mess with a Meta creature we shouldn't have. But let's focus on the here and now. Right now, it's just the two of us. Let's make this place our fortress—our home, we will get stronger and then find them again...If they could have stayed with us that would have been great...God's Garden isn't suitable for them sadly." Echo suggested, adding a hint of excitement to its tone.

Norvin leaned back against the wall, allowing a smile to break through. "Yeah I know, you told me that already. Alright, fortress-building and training it is. I need to keep my mind off things. I'll make this the best cave base you've ever seen."

"That's the spirit!" Echo encouraged. "And don't forget, you're the one in charge of decorating. I'm counting on your creativity!"

"Decorating? I'm a cosplay designer, not a housewife." Norvin chuckled. "I might hang some nice rocks and stray leaves. I'm an artist, after all."

"An artist indeed," Echo replied with mock seriousness. "Perhaps you can use some of our powers to pre make a few Oracle totems as well. Like I said earlier, lots to do."

"That's a great idea! I'll have to use astral alchemy and celestial fusion to make a work bench, snag some materials to use for fuel and I can pre make some ranger morphers or something." Norvin grinned, starting to feel lighter-hearted. "I'm glad you're with me, Echo. I can't imagine doing this alone."

"I'm glad to be here with you, too," Echo said earnestly. "We'll face whatever troubles come together. That's what partners do..."

With that, Norvin felt a flicker of hope beginning to spark—a reminder that even in the midst of chaos, he was not alone, but then he was drawn back to something that Echo had said earlier.

"Hey, Echo, before you said 'quest', not 'adventure'. What is actually going on anyways? What are you after?"

"...We can discuss that later tonight, when we are back in the cave again." 

"Alrighty...I guess it can wait for later."

Norvin activated inventory again, storing his sleeping bag and pillow with a wave of his hand. He then paused for a moment, his eyes had caught sight of the wood he had used the night before as a sword handle.

He reached out his hand, focusing his energy to pull it off the floor and into his hand.

Norvin shut his eyes. He held his hand out and prepared to use his psychic energy to reshape the stick into a proper katana-style grip.

As the wood disassembled in a dazzling swirl of golden particles, he poured his imagination into the transformation, envisioning the strongest materials on Earth. The particles danced in an intricate ballet, coalescing into a sleek form that looked both beautiful and sinister.

"Interesting choice... rule of cool, was it?" Echo teased, able to glimpse Norvin's mental image amidst the radiant chaos.

Norvin smirked at Echo's comment while looking at what he had just created.

He grasped a handle that seemed to absorb the very light around it - pure black, forged from countless thin honeycomb like layers of graphene, providing unparalleled strength and resilience.

Normally this type of material would not have been possible to manufacture.

The handle felt almost alive in his grip, exuding an aura of power and sophistication, yet weighing almost nothing. It measured around a foot long, elegantly contoured to fit perfectly in his hand yet sturdy enough to withstand immense force.

At the end of the handle, a golden ring of liquid metal had formed and solidified, seemingly woven from a blend of titanium and gold—Norvin's inner cosplay artist considering it a symbol of allure and strength. It had the slightest seam etched through the end farthest from the handle base.

Norvin skillfully wrapped the handle with intricate cords of high-tenacity polyethylene fibers, their dark sheen highlighted with subtle accents of gold. This not only ensured a firm grip but also added an element of tactile elegance, almost as if it were a work of art. To Norvin, it was art.

Where the blade would emerge, a tuft of black fur appeared—an unconventional touch that perfectly complemented the handle's ominous beauty. The fur, crafted from ultra-strong and lightweight fibers similar to the hair of the Gale Howler he had dressed down the night before, radiated an otherworldly, black sheen. Soft yet strangely intimidating, it provided a stark contrast to the ruthlessness of the weapon.

"If I'm going to use a sword made outta my own energy, it has to look cool. A regular old twig ain't gonna cut it, as far as the handle is concerned." Norvin declared, fastening the elegant creation to a belt loop on his pants. The ring on the end of the handle separated at its tiny seam and then clicked back into a whole circle to accommodate his actions.

With the morning sun rising steadily outside and the promise of adventure stretching before him, Norvin stepped out of the cave, ready to embrace the challenges that awaited him in the wilderness. Today was not just another day, it was the first day of the rest of his super-powered life!